The Strength of One's Will
by AnimePrincess64
Summary: Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu return to Cefiro for a reuion with there old friends. What happens when Cefiro is under seige and Hikaru is caught in the middle?


_**The Strength of One's Will**_

Hikaru was a strong young girl with a heart that always thought about the people she loved. It never crossed her mind about her own happiness. In order to obtain her own happiness she needed all of her friends to be happy. Her friends Umi Ryuuzaki and Fuu Hououji were always concerned with Hikaru's happiness. Hikaru and her friends traveled to Cefiro often. They all went on a monthly trip together after Hikaru eliminated the pillar system on Cefiro. They had fought many battles. In times of need, Hikaru had visions of the past pillar Princess Emeraude who lost her life because all she wanted was to love the man that loved her. One visit to Cefiro changed young 15 year old Hikaru Shidou for the rest of her life.

"You just made it." Umi stated as she and Fuu were waiting in the place where they were first transported to Cefiro in Tokyo Tower.

"Are you ready to go Miss Hikaru?" Fuu questioned politely.

"You bet!" Hikaru yelled. Hikaru reached for Umi's and Fuu's hands. They all held hand and a bright angelic light shone and Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu were all transported to Cefiro.

"I can see the castle!" Umi yelled. They all floated softly to the landing platform on the crystal castle. The doors creaked open and the girls started to walk down the large corridors. At the end of the corridor was the royal garden which was where everyone was waiting for the Magic Knights.

"Hey it's Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu!" Presea pointed out. She pointed at the three junior high girls as they stood in the doorway as they approached the group. All of their friends from Cefiro were there. Presea, Guru Clef, Ascot, Cladina, Rafarga, Primera, and Ferio. But Hikaru could see the spirits of High Priest Zagato and Princess Emeraude.

"It's great to see everyone again." Fuu stated. Ferio walked up to Fuu.

"Not as great as it is to see you." Ferio whispered to Fuu. He held Fuu's hand close to his face and Fuu blushed a crimson red.

"So how have you been Ascot? I hope you didn't grow anymore. If you did I would need a step ladder." Umi joked. Ascot blushed. Hikaru looked around the royal garden searching for something or someone.

"If you're looking for Lantis, he's in his room sleeping. He doesn't want to be bother." Primera stated. The small fairy flew close to Hikaru's head.

"Alright. Thanks Primera." Hikaru replied back.

"Just remember that Lantis is mine!" Primera warned. Primera flew off to see everyone else. Hikaru went for a walk down a different corridor then the one that she had entered earlier. All she could hear was the chirping of birds and the clank that her shoes made against the hard crystal floors.

"Hikaru." A voice stated. Hikaru looked behind her to see the spirit of Princess Emeraude.

"Princess Emeraude!" Hikaru stated. She respectfully bowed and walked up to the princess's spirit.

"I am happy to see that you are doing well." Princess Emeraude replied.

"I wish that I had told Makona to bring you and Zagato back to life in the short time I was the pillar." Hikaru regretted the choice and wished she could go back and change the past.

"That's alright Hikaru. I want you to know that Zagato and I are happy here on the other side." Princess Emeraude explained. Hikaru looked out the window and stared at Cefiro.

"It truly is beautiful now." Hikaru stated.

"It really is. And it's because of you and the other Legendary Magic Knights." Princess Emeraude explained.

"Princess?" Hikaru questioned.

"Yes. What is it Hikaru?" Princess Emeraude questioned.

"If I had enough willpower, could I wish for you and Zagato to come back without you having to be the pillar?" Hikaru questioned. The princess had never thought of this before.

"I don't want you to worry about me. I want what's best for you. I want you to think of yourself before you think of me." Princess Emeraude explained. "I must be going now. I will talk to you at a later time." The Princess vanished into thin air afterwards. Hikaru heard footsteps in her direction. Hikaru looked down the hall and saw a male with shaggy black hair with a similar colored armor. In his eyes Hikaru couldn't looked more beautiful. The light hit her face perfectly.

"Hello Lantis." Hikaru stated. Lantis walked up to Hikaru.

"Hello Hikaru." Lantis stated. They both exchanged glances. "I thought I heard you talk to someone." Lantis puzzled.

"Shall we head to the gardens?" Hikaru suggested.

"Of course." Lantis agreed. Lantis and Hikaru walked with each other on their way to the gardens.

"I see that you have awaken Lantis." Clef pointed out as Hikaru and Lantis walked into the gardens. Lantis and Hikaru took a seat next to each other at the table, but Primera made sure that nothing funny happened between the two of them.

"Alright everyone, dig in!" Umi stated as she and Ascot set the table with the cake that Umi brought and tea that Ascot made before they came. Everyone grabbed a slice of cake and a cup of tea and started to chow down.

"Umi this is splendid. You have out down yourself again with you cakes." Clef complimented.

"Aww gee thanks Clef!" Umi stated as she began to blush.

"So what should we do over our visit?" Fuu questioned.

"Hikaru…" a voice whispered. "Cefiro is about to be attacked by a foreign country. It is neither Fahren nor Cizeta nor Autozam." Hikaru stood up and started to walk to one of the windows.

"Hikaru, what's wrong?" Lantis questioned. Lantis walked up next Hikaru and looked out the window. Hikaru stared at the seemingly perfect sky until she saw something come at her. The dot in the sky was black and it grew bigger and bigger the faster it came towards Hikaru. Hikaru was frozen. Lantis noticed the laser beam come at Hikaru. "SHIELD!" Lantis drew out his sword and made a protective shield around Hikaru. Everyone else ducked under the table. The laser beam shattered the glass and went flying everywhere.

"Is everyone alright?" Rafarga questioned as he slowly stood up.

"I'm fine." Fuu replied. Everyone stood up and saw the shattered glass everywhere. Umi ran up to Hikaru who seemed to be in a trance.

"Hikaru? Hello Hikaru?" Umi questioned. Umi snapped her fingers in front of Hikaru's face and Hikaru looked at Umi.

"What happened? Did I go somewhere?" Hikaru questioned.

"You didn't go anywhere. You only zoned out for a bit." Lantis explained. Hikaru looked at the shattered window.

"_Whose voice was that? Could it have been Rayearth?" Hikaru thought._

"I am getting a reading from an attacker!" Clef yelled. Clef projected an image of the castle and the outer planets.

"Who is it?" Caldina questioned.

"I don't know, but we should put up reinforcements just to be safe." Clef stated.

"Let us go. I want to fight!" Hikaru yelled. Everyone looked at Hikaru.

"Well I can't let you into battle by yourself." Fuu stated as she walked up to Hikaru.

"Yeah. Remember we all promised that we would fight together." Umi agreed.

"Alright. Let's go." Hikaru stated.

"You three be careful now." Caldina warned.

"We will." Fuu stated. Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu ran out of the castle and transformed into their Mashin. They rocketed into the sky and disappeared behind the clouds.

"_Be careful Hikaru." Lantis thought._

Hours past and there was still no sign of Hikaru, Umi, or Fuu. Everyone was antsy waiting. They were all worried that they got hurt.

"I'm going out to look for Umi!" Ascot yelled. A hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Let's give them another hour. If they aren't back then we'll go look for them." Ferio thought. Ascot didn't want to wait but it's all he could do. After another ½ hour of waiting, everyone heard running footsteps coming towards them. Umi and Fuu came running in drenched in crimson red blood. Hikaru was unconscious in Umi's arms bleeding out.

"Hikaru!" Lantis yelled. Everyone ran up to Hikaru. "Let me see her." Umi gave Hikaru to Lantis and he looked at her carefully. She had a small gash on her right cheek and her arms and legs had massive gash marks that made her drip out.

"Alright the first thing we need to do is clean her up. Then we need to bandage her and then let her rest." Presea explained.

"Right." Fuu stated. Everyone ran to the washroom on the other side of the castle. Lantis carried Hikaru the whole way there.

"Alright let's go." Presea stated. She took Hikaru from Lantis and carried her inside the washroom. The boys started to walk in behind Caldina until she stopped them.

"Don't y'all know that Hikaru is a girl?! No men allowed until she is fully dressed!" Caldina yelled. She slammed the door in the boy's faces. "Honestly. They have no respect for women." Caldina walked up to Hikaru who was in the tub with bubble covering her entire body except her face. The bubbles began to turn red from Hikaru's blood.

"We have to clean her wounds." Fuu stated. Everyone grabbed a towel and gently rubbed the areas where Hikaru had the gash marks. Umi drained the tub and Fuu wrapped her in bandages. Umi gently lifted Hikaru upward and Caldina placed a pale yellow nightgown over Hikaru and undid her braid. Presea opened the door to see all of the boys still waiting outside.

"I'll take her." Lantis offered. Caldina gently handed Hikaru to him and she lay in his arms unconscious. Lantis and the others walked to the room where Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu were staying and Lantis laid her into bed. Rafarga pulled the covers over her and watched her lay there in silence.

"What happened after you left for battle?" Clef questioned as he looked at Umi and Fuu.

"You see, we were just on the outer reaches of Cefiro when all of the ships surrounded us. We were cornered. They fired at us and Hikaru put up a shield and protected us but not herself. We managed to defeat them though." Umi explained. Everyone stared at Hikaru.

"She puts others ahead of herself." Primera stated.

"We should let the little missy rest." Caldina offered. Everyone agreed and walked out of the room. A while later Hikaru had a vision.

"Where am I?" Hikaru questioned. She was nowhere. Everywhere she looked it went on for miles on end.

"You are at the boarder to the other side." A voice stated. Hikaru looked behind her and saw Princess Emeraude and Zagato.

"What do you mean boarder to the other side?" Hikaru questioned.

"You might die of your injuries." Princess Emeraude explained. This came to a shock to Hikaru.

"I-I might die." Hikaru stated.

"Yes." Zagato stated.

"I can't leave all of my friends and family." Hikaru explained.

"You might survive though. Everyone around you wants you to get better. But you yourself are holding yourself back from recovering." Princess Emeraude stated.

"What do you mean?" Hikaru questioned.

"You can easily heal yourself if you want to bad enough. You want everyone not to worry about you so that's what you are focused on." Zagato explained.

Outside of Hikaru's vision, Lantis was by Hikaru's bedside.

"_Hikaru. Do you want to die so that no one has to worry about you?" Lantis thought. _Lantis heard a creek in the door. He looked behind him to see a little pink fluff ball with rabbit ears and a red jewel in the middle of its forehead.

"Th-The creator?" Lantis stated in shock. He bowed onto his knees in respect for the little fluff ball. Mokona hopped up to Lantis and onto Hikaru's bed.

"What's going on?" Umi questioned with everyone next to her. Fuu noticed Mokona next to Hikaru with a worried look.

"I don't want people to worry about me, but I don't want to die." Hikaru thought out loud.

"It's your choice. We must be going. Take your time thinking about this." Zagato stated. Zagato and Princess Emeraude left Hikaru alone to think about her decision.

"What is Mokona doing here?!" Presea yelled. Mokona jumped into Umi's arms and snuggled with her.

"I've made my decision." Hikaru stated. A white light came from Hikaru that blinded everyone. A spirit of Hikaru became visible to everyone.

"Hi-Hikaru?" Umi questioned. Everyone didn't know what to think.

"Everyone. I've come to say my last goodbyes. I am going to the other side. Umi, Fuu, I want you to tell my brothers of my passing." Hikaru stated. Tears started to fill in everyone's eyes.

"Hikaru think about what you are doing! For once in your life think of yourself first!" Lantis yelled. He started to cry.

"Lantis…" Hikaru started. She took his face and faced it towards hers. "I don't want you to grieve my death. Even if I am not with you in the physical world I will always be in your heart." Hikaru let go and started to float up into the ceiling.

"Hikaru don't leave me! Hikaru!" Lantis yelled. The light was gone and Hikaru was out of anyone's reach. Lantis picked up the upper half of Hikaru's body and cried his heart out. Everyone started to cry. Even Mokona the creator started to cry. Hikaru was important to everyone in the room. She was even important to those who have already crossed over.

"She's gone." Lantis whispered. He gently placed Hikaru's body back on the bed. No one heard the pounding footsteps coming from the hallway.

"Everyone out of the way!" an angry female voice yelled. Everyone looked behind them to see Princess Emeraude and Zagato alive and in the flesh. Princess Emeraude ran to Hikaru's bedside and started to shake her around. "Hikaru wake up! I won't let you die if I have another chance at life! Please wake up!" The Princess was stopped by Zagato.

"She's gone. She can't be brought back." Zagato stated. Tears started to fill in the Princess's eyes. She dug her face into Zagato's clothes and took a handful of his cloak. She squeezed it tight.

"S-sister, how are you alive?" Ferio questioned his older sister.

"Just before Hikaru died, she used the rest of her will to ask us to come back to life and give us a second chance at life." Princess Emeraude explained.

"Even before death the little missy puts others ahead of herself." Caldina mumbled.

"That trait is a blessing and a curse. If only she was a little selfish none of this would have happened!" Umi yelled. Mokona jumped out of Umi's hands and onto Hikaru's chest.

"You all care for Hikaru don't you?" Mokona stated.

"Of course we do. She always had a contagious smile. Even if she was trying to steal Lantis from me, she's still our friend." Primera stated.

"Lantis what do you think of this girl?" Mokona questioned. Lantis was surprised about Mokona's question.

"I love Hikaru. I can't imagine life without her smile." Lantis stated. He starts to cry again.

"I have seen your feelings for this girl are strong. I too have feelings for the girl. She protects me and plays with me." Mokona confessed. A white beam came out of the jewel on Mokona's head and landed on Hikaru's forehead. Hikaru was surrounded by a light and small light particles dissolved into her body. Everyone fell silent to see what would happen. Hikaru opened her eyes.

"Hikaru!" Umi yelled.

"You're back!" Fuu yelled. Hikaru started to cough and Lantis placed his hand on the right side of her face.

"Lantis…" Hikaru weakly stated. She grabbed Lantis's hand.

"You safe now. I won't let anything take you ever again." Lantis promised. Hikaru sat up and hugged Lantis.

"I will never leave you again." Hikaru stated. Hikaru pulled away from Lantis and pressed her lips against his. Lantis ran his fingers thought Hikaru's hair. Hikaru pulled away. Hikaru and Lantis lived together in peace and harmony along with Fuu and Ferio, and Umi and Ascot.


End file.
